Adamo is one of the most commercially successful singers in Europe. Adamo has sold over 80 million copies of his albums worldwide. He is currently living in Belgium though he has lived in France with his family. His hits include "Tombe la Neige", "Vous permettez, Monsieur?" and "Inch'Allah", all from the sixties.
Adamo's early influences were the poetry of Victor Hugo, the music of French crooners such as Jacques Prévert or Georges Brassens, and the Italian canzonette. He started singing and composing his own songs from an early age. His debut was in a Radio Luxembourg competition, where he participated as singer and composer of the song "Si j'osais" ("If I dared") winning the competition's final held in Paris, in 14 February 1960.
Adamo's first hit was "Sans toi, ma mie", in 1963, from his debut album 63/64. He followed this with a series of hits, "Tombe la neige" ("The snow falls"), "Vous permettez, Monsieur?" ("May I, Sir"), "La Nuit" ("The Night") (1964), "Dolce Paola" ("Sweet Paola"), "Les Filles du bord de mer" ("The girls at the beach"), "Mes mains sur tes hanches" ("My hands on your hips") (1965), "Ton Nom" ("Your Name"), "Une meche de cheveux" ("Lock of golden hair") (1966), "Une larme aux nuages" ("A tear to the clouds"), "Inch'Allah" (1967), "L'amour te ressemble" ("Love resembles you"), "F... comme femme" ("F... like woman") (1968), "A demain sur la lune" ("See you tomorrow on the moon"), "Petit bonheur" ("Small happiness") (1969), "Va mon bateau" ("My boat goes"), "Les belles dames" ("Beautiful ladies") (1970), "J'avais oublié que les roses sont roses" ("I had forgotten that the roses are pink") (1971), "C'est ma vie" ("It's my life") (1975). Other notable songs included "Manuel", "Si Tu Etais", "Les Collines De Rabiah", "J'Te Lache Plus", "Mourir Dans Tes Bras", and "Ce George(s)".
The self-penned "Petit bonheur" sold over one million copies by April 1970, and was awarded a gold disc.
Amália Rodrigues recorded "Inch'Allah" in French. Adamo briefly attempted movie acting when he was cast in the film Les Arnaud (1967), which starred Bourvil.
He has recorded in many languages and, besides France and Belgium, had hits in Italy, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Turkey and also in Japan, where he toured repeatedly. Adamo has had hits and toured also in Latin America. In Chile, the audience awarded him an appreciation prize known as the "Antorcha" (Gold and Silver Torch) at the "Festival de Viña del Mar" held yearly in the "Quinta Vergara", at the seaside resort of Viña del Mar, where he once had to sing in three different, sold-out venues in the same night.
In the 1980s, Adamo's career faltered, as the style of his music was no longer fashionable. Since the 1990s, however, and on the crest of a nostalgia wave, Adamo has successfully resumed composing, issuing records and touring, starting with a full season at the Casino de Paris venue in April 1990. Adamo has sold over 100 million copies of recordings worldwide.
Albums
* 1992 Rêveur de fond
* 1994 C’est ma vie (compilation Live)
* 1995 La vie comme elle passe
* 1998 Regards
* 2001 Par les temps qui courent
* 2002 Les mots de l’âme (compilation)
* 2003 Zanzibar
* 2004 Un soir au Zanzibar (CD/DVD compilation Live)
* 2007 La part de l'ange
Quand passent les Gitans
Salvatore Adamo Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Qui embrasent les nuages
De leurs grands yeux noirs,
Quand passent les gitans, na na na na
Quand passent les gitans
Les doigts pleins de sortilèges
Elles traînent en cortège
Quand passent les gitans, na na na na
Quand passent les gitans
La nuit tombe en voile de feu
Les voilà déesses
Alors elles enchaînent les dieux
À leur jeunesse
Elles dansent
Une rose rouge entre les dents
Elles dansent
Et le temps s'accroche à leurs vingt ans
Palaï lalaïla
Chabada lalalala
Chabada lalala
Où s'en vont ces filles sauvages
Ces fantômes sans visage
Qui prêchent la peur
Quand passent les gitans, na na na na
Quand passent les gitans
Filles du vent ou reines mages,
Elles parent leurs corsages
Des fleurs du malheur
Quand passent les gitans, na na na na
Quand passent les gitans
L'une d'elles était mon amour,
Triste privilège,
Et mon âme de troubadour
S'est pris au piège
De la danse
Et de la rose rouge entre ses dents
Et la danse
A réduit mon être à feu et à sang
Palaï lalaïla
Chabada lalalala
Chabada lalala
Où s'en vont ces filles sauvages
Qui d'un maléfique gage
Brûlent dans mon cœur
Quand passent les gitans, na na na na
Quand passent les gitans, na na na na
Quand passent les gitans
Chabada lalala
The lyrics of Salvatore Adamo's song "Quand Passent Les Gitans" evoke a sense of mystique and wonder related to the passing of the gypsies. The song tells the story of wild girls who trail behind the gypsies, with their fingers full of spells and their eyes burning like fire. As the gypsies pass, the night falls like a veil of fire and these girls transform into goddesses, chaining the gods with their youth and beauty. They dance with a red rose between their teeth and time seems to adhere to their unstoppable youth. The song then turns more personal, as Adamo reveals that one of these wild girls was once his lover, and how he got caught in the dance of passion and fire, feeling reduced to ashes. The lyrics end with a painful reminder of the gypsies' passage, leaving behind only a burning in Adamo's heart.
Line by Line Meaning
Où s'en vont ces filles sauvages
Where do these wild girls go
Qui embrasent les nuages
Who set the clouds on fire
De leurs grands yeux noirs,
With their big black eyes
Les doigts pleins de sortilèges
Fingers full of spells
Elles traînent en cortège
They drag the demons of the night
Les démons du soir,
The demons of the evening
La nuit tombe en voile de feu
The night falls like a fiery veil
Les voilà déesses
Here they are, goddesses
Alors elles enchaînent les dieux
Then they chain the gods
À leur jeunesse
To their youth
Elles dansent
They dance
Une rose rouge entre les dents
A red rose between their teeth
Et le temps s'accroche à leurs vingt ans
And time clings to their twenties
Où s'en vont ces filles sauvages
Where do these wild girls go
Ces fantômes sans visage
These faceless ghosts
Qui prêchent la peur
Who preach fear
Filles du vent ou reines mages,
Daughters of the wind or magi queens
Elles parent leurs corsages
They decorate their bodices
Des fleurs du malheur
With flowers of misfortune
L'une d'elles était mon amour,
One of them was my love
Triste privilège,
Sad privilege
Et mon âme de troubadour
And my troubadour soul
S'est pris au piège
Got caught in the trap
De la danse
Of the dance
Et de la rose rouge entre ses dents
And the red rose between her teeth
A réduit mon être à feu et à sang
Reduced my being to fire and blood
Qui d'un maléfique gage
Who with a maleficent pledge
Brûlent dans mon cœur
Burn in my heart
Quand passent les gitans
When the gypsies pass by
Contributed by Anthony N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Graciela Coppa
Había escuchado una sola vez este tema y después de tanto tiempo da vacaciones a mí corazón 🇦🇷🕊️💗
eden Fleur
Très jolie mélodie. Adamo est un excellent mélodiste, doué de qualités d'écriture indéniables. Du pur bonheur !
Dayana Torres
Historial
Ludy El Supremo
Uno vive sorprendido cada vez más con este genial artista de pies a cabeza. Puesto que al contar con mucho más de un millar de temas, cuando uno se cree haberlos escuchado todos, aún siempre faltan...
Francisca González Martín
Maravillosa canción después de tantos años me sigue gustando,es unico
Claudine Segers
Immense talent l'Adamo , immense cœur aussi ..
Manuela Costa
Linda composição. Beijos para o Adamo!
Salvatore Deltoro
Un vrais poète Salvatore Adamo depuis ma tendre enfance je l'ai apraisie pour sa musique mélodieuse et pour ses paroles ,un vrais poète ,oui ont peut dire que qu'il fait partie des grand compositeur de notre vingtième siècle .
Gladys Alarcon Rivas
Hermosa canción 💙💙💙💙💙
Marama o
Immenso talento quello di Salvatore, ogni canzone è poesia allo stato puro!!! 💘